Hogshead loader and compacter



July 5, 1955 H. G. BELL E! AL HOGSHEAD LOADER AND COMPACTER Filed June20, 1951 Hal,

3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS.

ATTORNEYS.

July 5, 1955 H. G. BELL El AL HOGSHEAD LOADER AND COMPACTER Filed June20, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 EIG..Z

1N VEN TORS.

BY g'yvkw ATTORNEYS.

July 5, 1955 H, BELL ET AL 2,712,407

HOGSHEAD LOADER AND COMPACTER Filed June 20 3 Sheets-Sheet 5y/I/II/l/ll/l/I. 1 16.9. 17 I- BY yard-m HGGSHEAI) LQADER AND CGNEPACTERHarry Guthrie Beii, Paris, and .Eacoh Dougias Gay, Jr., Lexington, Ky.,assignors to {Ly-3275 Corporation, Paris, Ky a corporation of KentuckyApplication June 26, 1951, Seriai No. 232,628

12 Qiaims. (Cl. 226-71) Our invention relates to a loader and compacterfor loading material into a hoghead and compressing or compacting thesame during the loading operation and without the necessity of removingthe hoghead from one machine to another.

The loader and compacter, which is the subject matter of our invention,is primarily, but not exclusively designed for use in loading curedtobacco into hogsheads for storage and transportation.

Tobacco, when loaded in a hogshead, continues its curing process whiiein the hogshead and hence it is desirable for this and other reasons,that the tobacco be packed in the hogshead in such a manner that it hasa soft center. This soft center is accomplished by feeding the tobaccoin the loading operation close to the periphery or edge of the hogsheadso that it has a tendency to build up on the periphery of the load sothat when the tobacco is compressed by a compressing or compacting disc,the tobacco in the center of the hogshead will be more loosely packedthan the tobacco around the center portion.

It is an object of our invention to provide a loader which feeds thetobacco into the hogshead adjacent the periphcry of the hogshead asdescribed above.

It is a further obiect of our invention to provide a loader as describedabove which is combined with a compacting press so that the tobacco maybe compacted during the loading operation and the barrel head insertedunder pressure after the load is completed without the necessity ofmoving the hogshead' from one machine to another.

In the following description of our invention, as well as in thedrawings, we have shown our travel loader in combination with acompacting press similar to that shown and described in our copendingapplication, Serial No. 97,264, filed June 4, 1949, now Patent Number2,605,697, for a Compacting Press.

It is a further object of our invention to provide a combination loaderand com'pacter which is portable in a similar manner as that shown inthe aforesaid copending application and which permits the tobacco to beloaded or fed into the hoghhead, while in a stationary position, and atthe same time permits a compacting operation at intehvals during theloading operation with the hogshead in the same position at all times.

A further object of our invention is to provide a portable combinationhogshead loader and compacter which is completely seif-contained and,therefore, which may be easily moved from place to place for loadinghogsheads in different tobacco warehouses.

A further object of our invention is to provide a combination loader andcompacter which is simpie and rugged in construction, easy to maintainand repair and clean when necessary, and whi h is relatively inexpensiveto construct.

While in the drawings and following description, we show and describe aloader and conrpacter for use with ZJRZAQ? cured tobacco, we do notintend to limit ourselves to the material being handled since our deviceis equally adaptable for other material which is loaded and compactedinto a hogshead, such as cotton, paper, and the like.

These and other objects of our invention which will be set forthhereinafter or will be apparent to one skilled in the art upon readingthese specifications, we accomplish by that certain construction andarrangement of parts of which we shall now describe an exemplaryembodiment. Reference is now made to the drawings which form a partherein and in which:

Figure l is a front elevation with a portion broken away and in sectionof our combined hogshead loader and compacter.

Figure 2 is a cross section of the loading and compacting element takenon the section line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the material directing cone which is apart of our novel loader.

Figure 4 is a cross section of a portion of the cone shown in Figure 3taken on the section line 44 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the compacting disc, together with thegrid or framework for holding the same in position.

Figure 6 is a cross section of a hogshead being loaded and of theoperation portion of our loader and compacter in loading operation.

Figure 7 is a similar view as Figure 6, but with the combined loader andcompacter in compacting position.

Figure 8 is a view similar to a. portion of Figure 7 showing the devicein compacting position with a barrel head in place for the final sealingof the hogshead.

Figure 9 is a vertical section of a modified loader and compacterincorporating our invention.

Figure 10 is a front elevation of a portion in section of anothermodification of our loader and compacter.

Figure 11 is a vertical section of a portion of a modified loader andcompacter incorporating features of our invention.

Briefly, in the practice of our invention, we provide a compacting discor surface which may be reciprocated vertically into and out of ahogshead for compacting its contents. Directly over the compacting disc,we provide material directing means in the form of a revolving cone withits base in substantial registry with the compacting disc and carryingvanes on its surface. Means are provided above the cone for feeding thetobacco onto the surface of the cone which revolves and directs thetobacco over the edge of the compacting disc, and hence into thehogshead adjacent its periphery. The compacting disc and the cone arepreferably enclosed in a cylindrical housing which is opened at thebottom and of such an internal diameter as to provide an annular openingbetween the housing and both the compacting disc and the base of thedirecting cone.

In our preferred embodiment, the compacting disc, the cone and thecylindrical housing are all mounted on a vertically reciprocating yokeand move as a unit. When the hogshead is being loaded, the yoke is inits upper position so that the cyiinder and other mechanism is spacedover and above an open hogshead or over and above the usual type ofhogshead extension. After the hogshead is partially filled by theloader, the yoke is brought down which forces the compacting disc intothe hogshead and on top of the load and presses the load downwardly forcompacting the same. Then the yoke is moved upwardly to its initialposition and more tobacco is fed in over the revolving directing cone.In some instances, the feeding means may be continued during thecompacting oper tion since this results in merely filling up thecylindrical housing above the directing cone and does not interfere withthe operation of the compacting disc.

In the final operation, a barrel head is placed on top of the load overthe opening of the hogshead and the compacting disc brought down so asto force the head against the load and into the hogshead itself where itis fastened by any one of a number of well known means.

' upon its surface and rotates therewith. As a modification, the coneitself may remain stationary while the vanes which in this case aremounted on a frame may be rotated over the surface of the cone.

In all cases, the tobacco is fed by means of a conventional conveyor ontop of the cone and the revolving vanes. These vanes direct the tobaccoover the periphery of the compacting disc and through the annularopening adjacent the housing wall so it will fall around the outside ofthe interior of the hogshead.

Referring to the drawings, we provide a compacting press generally shownat 1 which is similar to the compacting press shown in our copendingapplication, Serial No. 97,264, filed June 4, 1949, now Patent Number2,605,697. Mounted on the yoke 2 is a cylindrical housing 3 open at bothends. Within this housing is provided a'cone 4 which is mounted on thevertical shaft 5, one end of which is journaled in the yoke 2 and theother .end of which is juornaled in the center 6 of the frame 7.

The frame 7 is composed of two cross pieces fastened across the loweropening of the cylinder 3. On the lower side of the frame 7 is fastenedthe compacting disc 8 which is of less diameter than the diameter of thecylinder 3 so as to provide an annular opening 9 between the walls ofthe cylinder 3 and the periphery of the disc 8. The cone 4 has a basewhich is substantially the same diaineter as the diameter of the disc 8so that material sliding down the surface of the cone 4 will be directedthrough the annular opening 3.

On the cone 4 are provided vanes 10 for moving and directing thematerial fed over the cone. These vanes 10 are so mounted that theirends 10' adjacent the base of the cone 4 are in advance of their upperends 10" in the direction of rotation of the cone 4. The vanes 10 arealso tilted in reference to the surface of the cone 4 and in thedirection of its rotation as shown in Figure 4. This positioning of thevanes 10 insures the even feeding of the material progressively throughthe annular open- -ing 9.

The cylinder 3 with its contained structure is posi erably rotated by amotor 15 mounted directly on the yoke 2 and operatively connected to theshaft 5, so that upon vertical reciprocation of the yoke 2,.the motor15' rides with the yoke 2, the cylinder 3 and the mechwism' containedtherein.

When it is desirable to comp-act the contents of the hogshead 12, theyoke 2 is brought down, which brings down the cylinder 3, together withits enclosed mechanism, and forces the compacting disc 8 against thematerial within the hogshead 12 as shown in Figure 7.

As a final operation a barrel head 16 (see/Figure 8) is positionedbetween the disc 8 and the contents of the hogshead 12 and forced withinthe hogshead in its final position where it is fastened. I

In the modification shown in Figure 9 the cylinder 3 together with itsenclosed mechanism is immovably fastened against the ceiling joist orsome other support 17 and the tobacco is fed between the conveyor 14through an opening 18 in the cylinder 3. In this case, the hogshead 12rests over a ram 19 in the floor of the building and when it isdesirable to compress or compact the contents of the hogshead 12, theram 19 is energized and the hogshead 12 forced up around the cylinder 3so the contents would be compacted by the disc 8.

Figure 10 shows another modification wherein the cylinder 3 ispermanently fastened against a joist or frame 17. In this case, thecylinder 3 is of a greater diameter than the diameter of the hogshead 12and its lower open end 3 is narrowed down to a diameter which willregister til) with the hogshead 12.

In this case, the revolving cone 4 is positioned well up upon will fillup the lower portion of the housing 3 be- 7 tween the cone 4 andthehogshead 12. Thus, the lower portion of the casing 3 acts as thehogshead extension 13.

In order to relieve the air pressure within the casing 3 and to assistin aerating the material within the case, we preferably provide vents 3in the side of the case 3. These vents 3" are preferably slanted asshown in the drawing so as to permit the passage of air and prevent thematerial in the casing 3 from leaking through the vents.

In the modification shown in Figure 10, the cone 4 is rotated around theshaft 5 which in this case does not itself rotate. The cone 4 is mountedon a sleeve 18 around the shaft 5 and is driven by a pulley 19 as shown.The compacting disc 8 is firmly mounted on the end of the shaft 5 andwhen it is desirable to compact the contents of the hogshead 12, theshaft 5 is forced downwardly by a hydraulic ram 20 so that thecompacting disc 8 takes the position shown in broken lines in Figure 10and compacts the contents of the hogshead 12.

In the modification shown in Figure 11, the general design is similar tothat shown in Figure 10 excepting that in this case the cone 4 is anintegral part of the compacting disc 8 and is fixedly mounted on theshaft 5. The vanes 10 are mounted on a fixture 11 which rotates themaround the surface of the cone 4 which itself is nonrotatable. Theadvantage of this construction is 'that when the shaft 5 is brought downso the disc 8 will compact the contents of the hogshead 12, the disc 8is backed up and maintained in position by the cone 4 which rides downwith it as is shown in the broken lines in Figure 11.

From the above, it is apparent that we have provided a hogshead loaderand compacter which is a single portable self-contained unit and whichpermits'the' loading of a hogshead so as to have a soft center and the.compacting of the contents during the loading without the necessity ofmoving thehogshead from one machineto distributes the tobacco in aprogressive manner around the periphery of the interior of a hogshead sothat the center of the final load will be soft. Our device is relativelyinexpensive to construct and maintain. In the portable embodiment asshown in Figures 1 and 2, the whole device may be lowered by bringingdown the yoke 2 so that it may be easily transported from warehouse towarehouse and will clear relatively low doorways and provide a lowcenter of gravity for transportation. 7 It is to be understood thatmodification may be made in'our invention without departing from thespirit thereof and'we do not intend to limit ourselves otherwise than aspointed out in the claims which follow.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

l. A hogshead loader and compacter comprising an imperforate compactingsurface capable of relative vertical reciprocation into and out of ahogshead for compacting the contents thereof, means adapted to feedmaterial to be loaded in the hogshead above said compacting surface andmeans above said compacting surface directing said material over theperipheral edge of said surface and into the hogshead adjacent its wall,said compacting surface being circular and of a slightly less diameterthan the diameter of the hogshead being acted upon, said materialdirecting means comprising a cone continuous throughout its periphery of360 and with its base substantially in registry with said compactingsurface, and means to rotate said cone whereby a shower of material isdeposited within said hogshead about said wall substantiallysimultaneously throughout the full 360 thereof.

2. A hogshead loader and compacter comprising a compacting surfacecapable of relative vertical reciprocation into and out of a hogsheadfor compacting the contents thereof, means adapted to feed material tobe loaded in the hogshead above said compacting surface and means abovesaid compacting surface directing said material over the edge of saidsurface and into the hogshead adjacent its wall, said compacting surfacebeing circular and of a less diameter than the diameter of the hogsheadbeing acted upon, said material directing means comprising a conecontinuous throughout its periphery of 360 and with its basesubstantially in registry with said compacting surface, and means torotate said cone whereby a shower of material is deposited within saidhogshead about said wall substantially simultaneously throughout thefull 360 thereof, said material directing means being surrounded by avertical cylindrical wall with its base in the same plane as saidcompacting surface.

3. A hogshead loader and compacter comprising a compacting surfacecapable of relative vertical reciprocation into and out of a hogsheadfor compacting the contents thereof, means adapted to feed material tobe loaded in the hogshead above said compacting surface and means abovesaid compacting surface directing said material over the edge of saidsurface and into the hogshead adjacent its wall, said compacting surfacebeing circular and of a less diameter than the diameter of the hogsheadbeing acted upon, said material directing means comprising a conecontinuous throughout its periphery of 360 and with its basesubstantially in registry with said compacting surface, and means torotate said cone whereby a shower of material is deposited within saidhogshead about said Wall substantially simultaneously throughout thefull 360 thereof, said material directing means being surrounded by avertical cylindrical wall with its base in the same plane as saidcompacting surface, and having a diameter less than the hogshead butgreater than the compacting surface.

4. A hogshead loader and compacter comprising a compacting surfacecapable of relative vertical reciprocation into and out of a hogsheadfor compacting the contents thereof, means adapted to feed material tobe loaded in the hogshead above said compacting surface and means abovesaid compacting surface directing said material over the peripheral edgeof said surface and into the hogshead adjacent its wall, said compactingsurface being circular and of a less diameter than the diameter of thehogshead being acted upon, said material directing means comprising acone continuous throughout its periphery of 360 and with its basesubstantially in registry with said compacting surface, and means torotate said cone whereby a shower of material is continuously depositedwithin said hogshead about said wall substantially simultaneouslythroughout the full 360 thereof, and said cone having at least oneprojecting vane on its surface.

5. A hogshead loader and compacter comprising a compacting surfacecapable of relative vertical reciprocation into and out of a hogsheadfor compacting the contents thereof, means adapted to feed material tobe loaded in the hogshead above said compacting surface and means abovesaid compacting surface directing said material over the peripheral edgeof said surface and into the hogshead adjacent its Wall, said compactingsurface being circular and of a less diameter than the diameter of thehogshead being acted upon, said material directing means comprising acone continuous throughout its periphery of 360 and with its basesubstantially in registry with said compacting surface, and means torotate said cone whereby a shower of material is deposited within saidhogshead about said wall substantially simultaneously throughout thefull 360 thereof, and said cone having at least one projecting vane onits surface, said vane being at an angle to the axis of rotation of thecone with the end nearest the cone base ahead of the other end in thedirection of rotation of the cone.

6. A hogshead loader and compacter comprising a compacting surfacecapable of relative vertical reciprocation into and out of a hogsheadfor compacting the contents thereof, means adapted to feed material tobe loaded in the hogshead above said compacting surface and means abovesaid compacting surface directing said material over the peripheral edgeof said surface and into the hogshead adjacent its wall, said compactingsurface being circular and of a less diameter than the diameter of thehogshead being acted upon, said material directing means comprising acone continuous throughout its periphery of 360 and with its basesubstantially in registry with said compacting surface, and means torotate said cone whereby a shower of material is deposited within saidhogshead about said wall substantially simultaneously throughout thefull 360 thereof, and said cone having at least one projecting vane onits surface, said vane being at an angle to the axis of rotation of thecone with the end nearest the cone base ahead of the other end and thefree edge of the vane ahead of the other edge in the direction ofrotation of the cone.

7. A hogshead loader and compacter comprising a portable base adapted tosupport a hogshead to be loaded, a frame projecting upwardly from saidbase a distance greater than the height of the hogshead, a verticallyreciprocable yoke mounted on said frame over said hogshead, a downwardlyprojecting hollow cylinder open at both ends mounted on said yoke andreciprocable therewith into and out of said hogshead, a compacting discmounted within the lower open end of said cylinder and spaced therefromso as to form an annular opening between the cylinder and the disc, avertical rotatable shaft positioned at the axis of the cylinder andjournaled in the disc center and through the yoke, a cone mounted onsaid shaft within the cylinder and with its base in substantial registrywith said disc and carrying outwardly projecting surface vanes, andmeans adapted to rotate said shaft and cone, and means adapted to feedmaterial into the upper open end of said cylinder and onto said cone sothat the rotation of the vanes on the cone direct the material throughthe annular opening and into a hogshead adjacent its side Wallsubstantially simultaneously about the full 360 thereof.

8. A hogshead loader and compacter comprising a portable base adapted tosupport a hogshead to be loaded, a frame projecting upwardly from saidbase a distance greater than the height of the hogshead, a verticallyreciprocable yoke mounted on said frame over said hogshead, said yokebeing mounted on a pair of pistons working in cylinders located toeither side of the hogshead, a downwardly projecting hollow cylinderopen at both ends mounted on said yoke and reciprocable therewith intoand out of said hogshead, a compacting disc mounted Within the loweropen end of said cylinder and spaced therefrom so as to form an annularopening between the cylinder and the disc, a vertical rotatable shaftpositioned at the axis of the cylinder and journaled in the disc centerand through the yoke, a cone mounted on said shaft within the cylinderand with its base in substantial registry with said disc and carryingoutwardly projecting surface vanes and means adapted to rotate saidshaft and cone andmeans adapted to feed material into the upper open endof said cylinder and onto said cone so that the rotation of the vanesonthe cone direct the material through the annular opening and into ahogshead adjacent its side wall substantially simultaneously about thefull 360 thereof.

9. A'hogshead loader and compacter comprising a hollow cylindricalcasing adapted to be positioned above a hogshead to be loaded, arotatable cone continuous throughout its periphery of 360 and locatedwithin said casing with its base spaced from said casing wall to providean annular opening of substantially the same outer diameter as the innerdiameter of the hogshead, means adapted to feed material into saidcasing above said cone so that it will be directed by said cone throughsaid annular opening into said hogshead, a compacting disc positionedbelow and registering with said cone base, and means adapted toreciprocate said disc into and out of said hogshead.

10. A hogshead loader and compacter comprising a hollow cylindricalcasing-adapted to be positioned above a hogshead to be loaded, arotatable cone continuous throughout its periphery of 360 and locatedwithin said casing with its base spaced fromsaid casing wall to providean annular opening of substantially the same outer diameter as the innerdiameter of the hogshead, means adapted to feed material into saidcasing above said cone so that it will be directed by said cone throughsaid annular opening into said hogshead, a compacting disc positionedbelow and registering with said cone base and means adapted toreciprocate said disc into and out of said hogshead, independently ofsaid cone.

11'. A hogshead loader and compacter comprising a u hollow verticalcylinder casing having an open lower end adapted to register with therim of an open hogshead to be loaded, a rotatable cone continuousthroughout its periphery of 360 and located within said casing andhaving its base spaced vertically above said lower end and from saidcasing wall to provide an annular passageway, a compacting discpositioned below and registering with said cone base, and means adaptedto feed material into said casing above said cone so that it will bedirected by said cone through said annular passagewayandjfall downthrough the open lower end of the casing into said hogshead, a portionof the casing holding said cone being of a greater diameter than the rimof the opened hogshead and the lower end of said casing being of thesame internal diameter as the internal diameter of the rim of thehogshead, and means adapted to reciprocate said cone and disc verticallyWithin said hollow vertical cylinder casing.

12. A hogshead loader and compacter comprising a hollow verticalcylinder casing having an open lower end adapted to register with therim of an open hogshead to be loaded, a rotatable cone continuousthroughout its periphery of 360 and located Within said casing andhaving its base spaced vertically above said lower end and from saidcasing wall to provide an annular passageway, means adapted to feedmaterial into said casing above said cone so that it will be directed bysaid cone through said annular passageway and fall down through the openlower end of the casing into said hogshead, a horizontal compacting discmovable independently of said'cone and of less diameter than saidhogshead opening, and means to reciprocate'said disc vertically from aposition directly below the base of said cone to a position Within saidhogshead for compacting the load therein, the base of said cone having adiameter at least as great as the diameter of said disc.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSBoehling Nov. 25,

